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I'm assuming that you have the coupe not convertible since I've had same problem with my 97 Dodge Avenger and this is quite common from what I have heard. The handle is held in place by two 10mm bolts. One is easily accessable, located right beside the handle with the door open. The other is a little harder to get at. The first thing you need to do is remove the inside door cover, held in place by four screws and push in clips along the bottom that pull out easily. Two of the screws are visible and in the top corners of the door panel. One screw is located behind the inside handle and once removed the moulding comes off quite easily. The other screw is in the hand hold where you pull the door closed and has a small plastic cover over it. If you have power windows you are able to disconnect the switches once the panel is off. If manual windows, the handles are usually held on by a clip that can be pushed off with a screw driver allowing you to pull of the crank handle. The window needs to be in the closed position so you can access the ONE 10mm bolt holding the outer door handle. Once the interior door panel is off, if any clips remain in the door, take them out and put them where they should be in the door cover it won't go back together properly if you don't. Now you'll need to pull down the corner of the plastic covering the door, don't remove all the plastic just enough to allow access to the bolt. I used a small rachet to get it out. It is in a stupid spot with not much room but is doable. Once out, the handle is only being held by the lock rods to the handle and lock cylinder. The lock cylinder is held by a retaining clip which can be slid off allowing the cylinder to be pushed out. The other rod connected to the handle has a plastic clip on it holding it in place. This can be opened with a small screwdriver. Once opened the rod will come out easily and the handle should come off the door. The only problem reinstalling, that I had, was reconnecting the rod to the handle and found that if you unscrew the door latch, the whole mechanism can be moved down, giving you more freedom to work with the rod. You might want to do this before fighting with the clip holding the rod in place, just a thought as I got mine apart in 20 min. Installing the new handle is quite easy, just attach rod to the handle FIRST before anything else. Once the handle is back on the door the lock cylinder can be pushed back in, it just gets in the way if you put it in the handle right away. Hope this is of some help.

The trick is that there is a small clip holding the inside handle in place. Push the panel in and grab it with small needle nose or forceps.

Then remove all the interior panels.

There are seven torx screws holding the intern latch into the door frame, and three interconnecting bars between the outer and inner inner handles.

Once you have the ability to move the inner assemble around you can get to the two metric nuts holding the exterior handle.

The lock assembly is removed by depressing the metal latch on the bottom of the handle assemble after the handle is fully removed.

Reverse and replace and that's it. (don't for get to have extra plastic door panel clips as they will break as you remove the interior panels)

Overall - I would suggest to just take it to the dealer or to a body shop. I'm told they would do it for about $75. I took about 2 hrs to do this and if you are even a bit shaky and drop anything into the door, it is game over. Next time I will do the dealer thing.

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Related Questions:

2006 Kia Rio is a cable not a rod and most often the cable will break at the connection point near the handle, there is a metal end that is manufatured on the cable and where these two meet is a weak or high stress point. The problem is there is no fix for this other than replacing the door latch which has the cables attached to it at the factory. Cost can run from $55 to $125 dollars depending on where you purchase. Replacing is basic DIY removing window crank, door handle trim piece, door panel, then unbolting latch assembly and replacing with new one. Reverse assemble door and problem solved.

You might try having someone inside, pulling steadily on the door handle and then 'bumping' near the latch assembly on the outside with the heel of the hand.
This will cause some confused latches to let go again.

Technical Instructions See picture below1. Remove door trim panel and water shield per
NOTE: Place a strip of masking tape along the edge of door before removing trim panel to prevent scratching the door with the trim panel removal tool.

4. Position a block (screwdriver handle) between the latch and the door inner panel and snap the cable housing end out of slot (towards inner panel) on door latch assembly and disconnect cable at latch. NOTE: Use care when removing cable housing to avoid bending of the latch. Discard cable.

5. Hook up new cable at latch and snap cable housing end into slot. NOTE: Make sure the cable housing is fully seated in the slot.

6. Apply a light film of Teflon grease to the barrel end of the cable. See Figure A.

7. Install return spring. See Figure A. NOTE: Ensure that the push button rod is located between the spring and the door inner panel.

8. Install foam block at latch. See Figure A.

9. Position water shield over the return spring and install push pin to retain upper portion of water shield. See Figure B. NOTE: Push pin goes in the same hole as the return spring.

10. Clean hands of grease before performing step 11.

11. Remove protective backing along the lower edges only of the water shield. See Figure A.

12. Install latch water shield at door latch. Pinch the exposed adhesive surfaces together to secure the water shield. Check to insure water shield is not showing through the door shut-face latch access hole. See Figure B.

14. Check the gap as shown in remote control using a 3/16 drill bit shank end. The drill bit shank should fit in the gap without any clearance and a tight fit is preferred. See Figure C.

15. If the drill bit is too loose or does not fit, adjust by bending the cable bracket as required.

16. Place plastic wedge on remote bracket as shown. Wedge must fit with at least a light press fit for retention. See Figure D.

17. After installation, Apply a dab of special Teflon grease, supplied with the service cable to cable housing openings at inside handle end. The grease should surround and contact the cable all the way around, to seal the opening between the cable and the cable housing.

Remove the plastic cover behind the door handle assembly by removing one black 14mm nut from just above the door handle, and 1 screw (usually phillips) from the bottom of the plastic cover.Remove linkages from lock cylinder and door handle assembly. Use a small flathead screwdriver to slide retaining clips forward, and linkages will come free.Remove one black 14mm nut from the very top of the door handle assembly.Remove one phillips screw drom the bottom of the door handle assembly.Door handle assembly should now come free by pulling out slightly at the top, and pulling upwards.Transfer lock cylinder and key minder light (if applicable) to new door handle assembly. Lock cylinder is retained by a single TORX bolt.Reinstall in reverse.TIP: If you lose or damage any of those black plastic coated nuts, order new ones. They are GM p/n 10067214 and should be around $0.58/each. There are two on each door.

Find and remove two screws visible on the door panel, including underneath small covers. Pop them off with a small screwdriver. Lift front edge of control panel, then pull forward and lift out. Pull upper door panel from door. Disconnect courtesy light connector. Disconnect door open handle cable assembly and door lock cable assembly. You might need to lift panel and twist to get it off.

remove the door panel, disconnect the linkage from the outer handle and remove the 2 nuts holding it into the door. assembly is reverse of removal. You can pick up a Haynes manual at most any auto parts store that will give you step by step instructions and in most cases shows pictures. Hope this helps.

ok. first u remove the door panel(s), with the window rolled up, u will be able to see the back side of the exterior door handle. there will be three bolts, they are size 10metric. there is also a rod attached to the handle held in place by a plastic clip, remove the rod, then remove the three bolts. from the outside remove the exterior door handle being careful not to scratch painted surface. Repeat for the other door(s). Repeat this for installation.

the inner door lock assembly.unscrew door handle window winder handle and unscrew lock knob.door panel should be held on by plastic push on plugs,pull off from the bottom up ,remove screws, if any. When plugs have been seperated lift panel upwards to clear top of inner door panel.Undo inner door handle and release from lock joiner rod.close to the inner door handle is a plastic rod link should be white rotate outer part until its released.the door lock<key>has a plate holding it to the door remove it and remove the lock from the rod.Remove outr door handle and remove from the rod At the bottom of the door is a bolt holding the window channel,remove the channel by unbolting,pull back window rubber and wiggle steel channel down until it slides out so the inner lock can be accessed.Remove the three large screws holding the outer door lock.it should be able to be removed. place the locks next to each other so you dont mix up the rods when you swap them over.assembly is the reverse order wind the window all the way up before you start.